The increased supply of skilled labour and institutional factors have been advanced in an effort to explain why some countries have experienced smaller increases in earnings dispersion and in returns to education relative to the United States. Ireland’s supply of skilled labour has increased...

Higher rates of economic growth in recent years have led Ireland from being a country characterized by emigration to one where population inflows have become an important issue. This paper contains an analysis of one element of the current inflow. Drawing on data collected in 1998 on over 800...

Increasing earnings inequality has been an important feature of the US and UK labour markets in recent years. The increase appears to be related to an increased demand for skilled labour and an increase in the returns to education. In this paper we examine what has happened to earnings...

The skill levels of immigrants entering the United States has declined in recent decades, but most immigrants to the United States continue to be admitted on the basis of family contacts, without reference to labour market characteristics. This situation has given rise to a debate about the...

The impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on later-life health outcomes has been studied extensively and links with depression, anxiety and self-harm have been established. However, there has been relatively little research undertaken on the possible impact of CSA on later-life economic...

Using data from surveys of enterprises in Ireland in 1993 and 1996–97, the authors estimate the productivity effects of general training, specific training, and all types of training combined. Statistically significant positive effects on productivity are found both for all training and...

Using data from a large-scale survey of employees in Ireland, we estimate the extent to which people who have emigrated from Ireland and returned earn more relative to comparable people who have never lived abroad. In so doing, we test the hypothesis that migration can be part of a process of...

Discussions of municipal solid waste (MSW) management are influenced increasingly by the concept of the waste hierarchy which, broadly speaking, places landfill as the least acceptable option for dealing with MSW, followed by incineration, recycling, re-use and reduction at source. In this...

Purpose – In this paper, the authors aim to assess whether immigrants are more likely to receive welfare payments relative to natives across a range of European countries. They also seek to examine relative rates of poverty across immigrants and natives. Design/methodology/approach – The...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the rates of receipt of welfare for immigrants and natives in Ireland, to see if the outcome is consistent with the operation of a policy which was designed to limit immigrant access to welfare. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use...